Thunderclap
by Durbe the Barian
Summary: "Thunder is scary. I can't stop thinking about Mommy when I hear it."


ToX2

Thunderclap

Family/Angst

Julius, Ludger

"Thunder is scary. I can't stop thinking about Mommy when I hear it."

(I have no 'Tales of Xillia' in my list of successful works.)

* * *

Thunderclap

* * *

Julius wasn't scared of thunder. Maybe it was because of his training to be a Spirius agent, but he never thought of thunder as anything less than a time when the Great Spirits decided to be total jerks and ruin a perfectly decent night. In that sense, he was far beyond his teenage years.

Okay, sure, he would jump when it first started, but when one is a young teenager on his way home to his still foreign apartment, who wouldn't? Jumping once didn't necessarily mean he was afraid. It just meant that he was caught off-guard. And never in his life was he ever caught off-guard when he was safe in his home.

Never.

That day was no different.

The stars were gone, having long since been covered up by the clouds. Rain had soaked Julius's jacket through, chilling him to his bones.

Okay, maybe he should have listened to Ludger when he told him to grab an umbrella, or at least wear a thicker coat. But, unfortunately, all the grumbling in the world couldn't change his situation. He was cold and he was going to have to deal with it.

"Ludger," he called out, opening the door to the apartment with his shoulder, "I'm home."

No answer came immediately. Just the thunderclap from outside.

Such a still response prompted Julius to raise an eyebrow. Ludger wasn't anywhere in sight. Instead, the food was boiling over on the stove.

Ludger must have been in quite a hurry if he forgot to turn it off like that.

Turning the dial, Julius looked around the room as the dinner cooled. "Ludger," he called again. "Where are you, bud?"

No answer again. Just a thunderclap.

Suddenly, everything made perfect sense.

Sighing, Julius walked over to Ludger's door and opened it up.

Empty.

Unsurprising.

"Ludger?" he whispered. "Are you in here?"

No answer. Again, unsurprising.

Another sigh escaped Julius before he chose to walk over to the bed and bent down.

Just as he thought. A blanket was hidden underneath the bed.

Julius just had to chuckle at that one. It was so funny, it was adorable.

"Hey, Luds," Julius said, unsurprised by the two bright green orbs that appeared from underneath the bed. "You gonna come out of there or what?"

"O-Onii-chan," the tiny boy squeaked out.

Julius only smiled a little bit, just before the thunder clapped again.

That was more than enough to pull the trigger.

"AH!"

Instantly, Ludger jumped out from under his bed, tears flowing down his face as he embraced his elder brother. "O-Onii-chan!" he exclaimed, his entire body trembling with fear.

"It's okay, Ludger," Julius said, stroking Luger's white head of hair slowly. "It's okay. I'm here now."

* * *

It was sometime after midnight before the rain and thunder showed any signs of letting up. Julius was successful in getting Ludger to sit down on the couch, wrapped up in his blanket in an effort to feel safer and more comfortable. Then he set himself beside Ludger and wrapped his arm around him. Marvin had told him that it would make the little boy feel safer during a storm.

It worked.

Ludger had calmed down so much, he almost fell asleep. Too bad that every time the thunder clapped again, he'd wake right up and bury his face in his brother's new shirt.

"Hey," Julius finally spoke up, finding Ludger's tears in his waist just a little bit unbearable.

"Sorry, Onii-chan," Ludger said. "It's just...the thunder."

"Well, why does it scare you so much, big guy?" Julius asked, trying to sound like the elder brother he had made himself out to be. "It's just the Great Spirits bowling, you know."

"I know," Ludger squeaked. "It's just..."

"It's just what?" Hopefully, Julius didn't sound too impatient with Ludger.

"Thunder scares me. I can't stop thinking about Mommy when I hear it."

Julius found himself frozen solid.

Claudia.

The flash of Chromatus.

Just like the flashing of lighting.

Ludger's pale hand lifted his quilted blanket to his face in an effort to hide his tears. "I miss Mommy," he choked out.

Julius hesitated in speaking up. What could he say in such a situation? Especially to Ludger of all people?

Only what he thought, he supposed.

"It's okay, Ludger," he said, wrapping his other arm around his tiny brother. "I miss her too."

Ludger only looked up, eyes still a bit watery from tears.

If he didn't know any better, he'd have sworn that Julius was giving him a sad smile.

"Onii-chan?"

The thunder clapped again, forcing Ludger to bury his face in his brother's shirt yet again.

"Ludger...," Julius said softly, eyes lowering as tears fell from his younger' brother's eyes.

Then he did the one thing that Marvin didn't teach.

He covered Ludger's ears, easily blocking out the thunderclaps.

Ludger figured it out in an instant, shown by him raising his head a little bit to look at Julius.

And at his pained face.

"Onii-chan?"

Julius only opened his mouth, obviously saying something to his little brother.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Ludger was unable to hear.

He was only able to close his eyes and finally fall asleep in his brother's arms.

Julius could only smile a little bit more before adjusting the blanket around Ludger and falling asleep himself.

By that time, the thunder had finally stopped.

* * *

Julius was awakened the next morning by the smell of breakfast. His eyes were blurry for a moment or two, but once they cleared, he found himself to be slightly surprised at the sight of Ludger working at the stove. Perhaps he thought he was still dreaming or something, because he pulled his glasses away and rubbed his eyes. When he realized it was indeed real, Julius called out, "Ludger...?"

The little boy jumped only a little bit, having not heard his brother waking up, but then he turned to face him, a smile forming on his face. "G'morning, Onii-chan," he said, spatula in hand. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess," Julius said, rubbing his face as he woke himself up the rest of the way. "What are you doing up? Usually, after a thunderstorm, you sleep in until noon."

"Mmm," went Ludger. "I didn't have to today."

"Why's that?" Julius couldn't help but ask.

To answer, Ludger pointed to his ears. "Remember, Onii-chan?" he asked. "You covered my ears and helped me get to sleep."

Julius froze up a bit.

Ludger, who didn't notice his hesitation, only smiled even more.

It was only a moment later before that contagious grin effected Julius as well.

He walked over to his brother's side and placed his hand on Ludger's head. "So what's the special today?" he asked.

Beaming, Ludger looked down to the pan. "Tomato omelets."

"Are you trying to butter me up with tomatoes?" Julius teased, ruffling Ludger's bed-head hair.

"No," Ludger laughed. "I'm just trying to say thank you."

"Thank you? For what?"

"For helping me get to sleep. Mommy said that I have to be sure to thank the people who help me out."

Julius had to force his smile to stay put. How much more would Ludger have learned from her, he wondered, if he hadn't happened upon them that day?

Maybe he would have been safer in her custody than he was in his own.

"Onii-chan?"

Julius was quickly brought out of his guilt trip by Ludger's tiny voice and the smell of a tomato omelet under his nose. "Are you feeling okay, Onii-chan?" Ludger asked. "Do you want me to make something else instead?"

The elder brother blinked, but then quickly recovered and took the plate from Ludger's hands. "I'm fine, Ludger," he said. "And this'll be great." He then gave Ludger a pat on the back. "So come on, Chef," he continued. "You'd better eat too. You don't want to be late for school, do you?"

Ludger stared for a moment or two. Then he beamed even more and nodded. "Right."

Chuckling a little bit, Julius held his plate in one hand and rubbed Ludger's head just a little bit longer before setting himself down.

Ludger's laugh followed shortly after.

* * *

_I'm sorry...Ludger._

* * *

**D.T.B: I haven't the faintest idea exactly how old Julius is in this story, but I place Ludger somewhere between 5 ½ and 9.**


End file.
